Seppelt Great Western is another historic winery in the Grampians Wine Region. With over 150 years of winemaking experience, the quaint facility has established itself as a quality wine producer.
Seppelt’s approach is always to create something new. Thus, each of their wines boasts unique varietal characteristics, strong flavour, and authentic taste. All in all, Seppelt’s wines are some of the best premium and regionally expressive.
Seppelt Great Western, Underground Winery Tour, Grampians
Winemakers at Seppelt’s always choose ripe grapes for more flavour, so each wine has a refined taste and elegant structure. Visitors to this winery can taste some of their special wines.
Seppelt Great Western is not just about producing wines. It is a great historic spot that showcases century-old local heritage and tradition. Whilst visiting this old winery, visit the underground tunnels or ‘the Drives,’ where the winemakers store their sparkling wines for aging. Some of their wines are also over 130 years old!
From the moment you pass through the iron gate into the magnificent National Trust classified ‘Drives’, you’ll feel yourself take a journey back in time. The expansive, rustic tunnels stretch further than the eye can see, enticing you to wander further and explore their rich history.
The Great Western Winery was founded in 1865 by Joseph Best, and the excavation of The Drives began in 1868. When Joseph Best discovered that the ground on the site was made of a rock bed of decomposed granite, an easily dug yet solid compound, he commissioned local gold miners to tunnel underground cellars to store his wines. These cellars are known to this day as ‘The Drives’.
Initially consisting of only a 9-metre deep shaft entry and a single Drive, successive owners of the winery continued to extend the hand-dug Drives over a period of 60 years to cellar the extensive collection of famous wines produced at the property and store them at an optimal temperature of 16 degrees.
The Drives are a maze of tunnels stretching under the vast property for an incredible 3km, being Australia’s largest underground cellaring system and storing 3 million bottles of wine!
This beautiful winery invites visitors to enjoy coffee and cheese platters. So, if you are in the Grampians region and in the mood to taste some of the region’s best-quality wines, then look no further. Visit Seppelt Great Western for a memorable wine-tasting trip and a scenic winery tour experience.
What is the total distance of the tunnels/what has been the max amount of bottles and how may currently/when was the first bottle produced? Is Seppelt owned by Great Western? We camped there 18 months ago but it was so busy in the group, it was hard to get answers from the tour leader.
Hi Wim,
Thanks for contacting us. We aren’t actually representatives of Seppelt Great Western, but i have used my search skills to find your answers.
Please see below:
What is the total distance of the tunnels?
The tunnels wind around for three kilometers beneath the historic Great Western home
What has been the max amount of bottles & how may currently?
Unfortunately, i was unable to find any information on this. With 3kms of tunnel, it’s going to be quite a few!
When was the first bottle produced?
It’s mentioned that Seppelt has been making wine for 160 years, starting in 1851. As for the Grampians vineyard itself, it’s stated that the historic Seppelt St. Peters vineyard was first established in 1863, and then re-planted in 1962.
Is Seppelt owned by Great Western?
The brand name is just “Seppelt”, and “Great Western” is actually the town where the winery is located. If you have seen their other region’s bottle labels, you would notice they have a tendency to put the region name directly under the logo, which might be the source of confusion.
Digging deeper, it looks like Seppelt brand is owned by “Treasury Wine Estates”, who happen to also own such brands as Lindemans, Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Wynns and many more.
Hope this helps.
Michael